InFAMOUS: Second Son has proven to be a big step forward for the super-powered sandbox series of games, bumping up gameplay, visual appeal, and storytelling across the board and breathing new life into the series’ Conduit-filled world. Sucker Punch have also proven their ability to create robust, outside-the-box add-on content with their episodic DLC, Paper Trail. Now, the inFAMOUS developer is looking to flesh out one of the more prominent characters from Second Son with First Light. The stand-alone add-on explores Abigail “Fetch” Walker’s life in the years leading up to the events of Second Son, and promises to provide a new gameplay and storytelling experience. The question is, should you give First Light a look, or is it more likely to turn you off? Let’s find out.

Warning: SLIGHT story spoilers ahead!

For the uninitiated, Fetch is one of the major characters you’ll meet in Second Son, who lends her Neon-based powers to Delsin Rowe’s fight against the oppressive D.U.P. in Seattle. However, her past is as colored as her powers – and her dyed-pink hair. Told from Fetch’s perspective after her capture by the D.U.P., the game’s story begins with Fetch and her brother Brent, on the run and taking on odd jobs to survive. When an opportunity for one last score comes along, their involvement kicks off the events that take place throughout the rest of First Light’s story. These memories are interspersed between Fetch’s training sessions in the D.U.P. compound known as Curdun Cay, where Brooke Augustine (Second Son’s main antagonist) attempts to uncover the truth of Fetch’s past and unlock her more dangerous, latent powers to turn her into a living weapon.

First Light does a great job of fleshing out Fetch’s story.

Sucker Punch have spared no expense in making First Light’s story just as engaging as Second Son’s, if not more so. Second Son players will have hints into Fetch’s past, the hardships she endured, and the tragedy she faced, but First Light does an excellent job of not only filling in the missing details, but telling the story with meaning. Laura Bailey reprises her role as Fetch in First Light, and does a downright phenomenal job of bringing her character to life. Like Delsin, Fetch has varying ranges of emotion, and they all come through with immense detail. And much like Second Son, First Light’s facial capture technology is second-to-none, making the game’s characters incredibly lifelike.

Considering Delsin has access to Fetch’s Neon powers, you might think that she would play like a carbon copy of the Second Son protagonist, with just a quarter of the pep; thankfully, while Delsin has versatility, it’s clear that Fetch is the real master of her powers. Fetch shares some of the abilities Delsin copied from her, such as precision shooting for instant takedowns, time dilation, fast running, comet drops, stasis bombs, and a karmic super move, but she’s also got some unique tricks of her own. Her melee style is more scrappy and fast-paced than Delsin’s, consisting of rapid, hard-hitting punches. Rather than having an ammo-based charge-up beam, Fetch can instantly knock out enemies in melee.This ability is fueled by completing melee combos and using dash attacks, and sets up an intriguing push-pull mechanic where you’ll dash-attack an enemy into a stasis bubble (granting you melee energy), then using that earned energy to immediately finish off your hapless foe. Players who like to eliminate their opponents at range will enjoy Fetch’s ability to stay in “focus” mode for longer by attaining consecutive precision shots on enemies, taking out whole crowds of foes before they can even react to you. Fetch can even fire homing neon missiles at opponents, perfect for taking down big, tough baddies.

Fetch has as much a mischievous streak as Delsin.

Your time with First Light will mainly take place in two locations: The free-roamable city of Seattle, and the wave-based battle arenas in Curdun Cay. Seattle presents a similar experience to Second Son, allowing Fetch to freely explore the city, and like in the main game, go for map completion. “Tagging” returns as one of these activities, but you’ll have Fetch performing other actions as well, not the least of which is First Light’s new “Lumen Race” mini-game. When reaching designated areas in Seattle, Fetch can initiate a race, requiring her to use her speed running to catch a runaway ball of neon energy while passing through neon clouds to give her a boost of speed; it’s fast-paced and extremely fun. You’ll just wish you could replay them, because once you complete them all, there’s no way to start another one. That being said, Seattle represents the majority of the story-driven content in First Light; the arenas in Curdun Cay are what will keep you coming back for more. Players are able to face off against waves of thugs, D.U.P. soldiers, or even holographic demons while rescuing hostages and taking advantage of environmental weapons, such as hackable D.U.P. turrets. Along the way, you’ll be presented with dozens of challenges that will allow Fetch to unlock skill points to make herself more powerful and unlock additional abilities. Combining this with First Light’s myraid trophies (culminating in a Platinum!), these battle arenas will keep you playing First Light for a while after you’ve completed the story (and, indeed, Fetch’s strongest powers will only unlock once you beat the campaign). The only real downside to these modes is their simplicity – you go into each arena as Fetch (or Delsin, if you own Second Son) with whatever powers you’ve accumulated up to that point. There’s no currency, no power-ups to buy (though there are some present in the levels), and no real strategy to speak of. The goal is simply to eliminate waves of enemies and rescue hostages while staying alive. However, global leaderboards will give you a goal to reach for.

Visually, First Light boasts the same technical chops as Second Son, including an expansive city to explore, phenominal facial and model animations, and scintillating special effects (especially from Fetch’s Neon-based powers). It’s simply a gorgeous game to look at. First Light’s sound direction is good as well, if only by the virtue that it’s largely identical to Second Son’s soundtrack and effects library. There are a couple of new Fetch-themed tracks mixed in for key story moments, but you’ll quickly recognize familiar tunes while exploring the city and running Lumen Races. Considering how good Second Son’s soundtrack is, though, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Still, it does make it a little harder for First Light to stand on its own, rather than in Second Son’s shadow.

For $14.99, First Light proves to be a solid bargain for all of the content provided to the player. The story is well-written, the gameplay is tight, and the graphics and sound are triple-A quality. The Curdun Cay battle arenas provide good replay value as well. While First Light does feel a bit stripped-down compared to Second Son, it’s hard to complain for everything you get at a quarter of the price, and serves as a great example of how to make DLC feel like a full-featured experience. First Light is definitely worth the purchase, whether you’re new to the series or a die-hard veteran.

Overall Score: 9.0 out of 10 = Buy it!

This has been an unsolicited review for inFAMOUS: First Light on PS4. Game purchased by reviewer.